Elon Musk shares his love of anime, says he wants to build a mecha

Investor expresses admiration for two of anime’s most iconic directors, has fans wondering if he’ll take inspiration from Evangelion or Gundam.

Elon Musk is a busy guy, being the key figure in numerous ventures including car manufacturer Tesla and aerospace company SpaceX. However, he probably has a little more free time these days after stepping down from his position as Tesla’s chairman in response to accusations from the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.

Musk relinquished the position as part of a settlement regarding fraud charges after sending out unsubstantiated tweets that he’d secured funding to take the publicly traded Tesla private. But hey, no longer being the company’s chairman gives Musk time to indulge in a hobby that he can tweet about without getting in trouble with the law: anime.

Last Sunday, apropos of nothing in particular, Musk tweeted “Love Your Name,” accompanying the message with the trailer for director Makoto Shinkai’s phenomenally popular film. Considering the tremendous hit Your Name has been, more than a few fellow fans were happy to see Musk’s passion overlapping with theirs, inspiring some rather unique fan art.

Of course, liking the most commercially successful anime film of all time doesn’t immediately qualify you for otaku status. But other Twitter users were able to confirm that, if nothing else, Musk’s appreciation for anime goes beyond just enjoying Your Name, as he also expressed his fondness for Evangelion and the works of Studio Ghibli co-founder Hayao Miyazaki.